Together
by HouseofBlue
Summary: To Kenma, Kuroo has always been like 'a savior' and 'companion,' but nothing else. That relationship hasn't ever changed. When Kuroo walks in on Kenma changing one day and Kenma notices Kuroo's 'embarrassment,' things between the two of them change suddenly and drastically.


**Together**

"Kenma! What are you doing wandering off like that? We're all waiting for you."

The sound of Kuroo Tetsurou's voice echoed through the empty street, drowning out the familiar tunes of the game Kozume Kenma had been playing since drifting away from the rest of the volleyball team twenty minutes ago. They'd been taking too long to pack up again, spending more time joking around than actually working. He didn't particularly enjoy exerting too much energy around people—even around his teammates—so he usually wandered off after doing his part of the cleanup. Usually he ended up in a different place every time, but he didn't care where he went, really, as long as it was quiet. The only one who seemed to understand his haphazard drift patterns had found him now, though, and was staring listlessly at him with cat-like eyes and a frown on his face.

Really, Kuroo's accuracy was sometimes unsettling, but Kenma had gotten used to it. After all, if he hadn't had Kuroo, he would probably never have been able to survive very well on his own. Kuroo had been finding him since they were kids. Forcing him out of his perfectly crafted bubble and thrusting him into the real world. Tapping his shoulder whenever he was about to miss his train stop. In short, Kuroo had always been—and continued to be—his 'savior,' and though that scared him a little, he was grateful.

"Sorry, Kuro," Kenma apologized. Kuroo's frown disappeared slowly as Kenma jogged over to him, and that made Kenma a bit happy. He didn't like it when Kuroo worried about him.

"Well, you've disappeared on me so often it's almost as if I can track you down by instinct now, you know? I don't think you should even be saying sorry anymore."

"Mm?"

"It's cause if you really were sorry you'd have stopped wandering off by yourself by now. At least around me."

"Mm … you're right."

Kuroo let out a small laugh. Kenma's anti verbosity was nothing new, but it still amused him.

"But instinct, huh? That's scary…" Kenma remarked.

Kuroo laughed again.

"It should be. Took me a while to perfect it."

"You don't think it was a waste of energy?"

"Of course not. You get lost so often, it's become pretty much invaluable to me."

"Mm…"

The two of them joined up with the rest of their teammates a while later—since Kenma had wandered so far—and had steamed pork buns on the way home. The snack was definitely welcome after grueling practice, especially since it was one of Kenma's favorites. After they'd separated from the others, Kuroo pulled another one out of his paper bag and handed it to Kenma, smiling slyly.

"An extra again? You're trying to make me fat, aren't you, Kuro?"

"Say ah~"

"…ah…"

Kuroo had always been concerned about Kenma's fragility, but Kenma had never seemed to gain any weight, even when handed extras like this. At this point, Kuroo's handing extras to Kenma had become a reflex now, and Kenma gladly accepted Kuroo's offers. Even if he had to be fed like a little kid. He didn't mind. It was innocent, and Kuroo seemed to get a kick out of it every time.

Kuroo was still snickering when they arrived at Kenma's house.

"Well, that was faster than expected tonight, wasn't it?"

"It's only because you laughed the whole way and lost track of the time."

"I couldn't help it. Anyway, I'll be back later; is that okay? I think I'll sleep over, too."

"It's fine … take your time. I'll be taking a bath, so…"

"Later, then~"

Kuroo's house was a bit further down the street. Because of that proximity, Kuroo had easily forced his way into Kenma's bubble life when they were little kids. He'd saved him from living a lonely life—though Kenma had still always been content with his games—and become his only best friend. He'd even gotten the lackluster kid to play volleyball and somewhat enjoy it. Because of that, Kenma's parents had taken an intense liking to Kuroo, and they liked having him over. Any boy forceful enough to shove steamed buns into their son's mouth when he forgot to eat and gentle enough to draw their son away from a game and out for a walk was welcome in their home. Kuroo, of course, liked to use that to his advantage. Sometimes he would appear late in the afternoon on a weekend, when Kenma was napping, tickle his feet until he woke up, and then leave. Sometimes he would force him out of the room to go grocery shopping. Kenma had gotten used to it, of course, but again, by now pestering Kenma was tradition.

"Forgive me for intruding~"

"Ah, Kuroo-kun, make yourself at home!"

Kenma had told Kuroo to take his time, but Kuroo had had a bath, eaten dinner, and made his way over to Kenma's house in less than half an hour. It wasn't that he was particularly overeager tonight, or anything; he'd just always been the kind of guy to do things quickly. Besides, if Kenma was still in the bath, he would let loose in Kenma's room while he waited.

As he always did, he made his way down the hallway to Kenma's room, greeting Kenma's father politely on the way there. The place felt like a second home to him, really, and as per usual he opened Kenma's door without knocking and entered stealthily. Unlike any other time, however, he was greeted by something … different. Not by an empty room or by a Kenma playing a game quietly. Kenma was there, in the room, actually. But he wasn't on the bed. He was changing into clean clothes after having taken his bath. The scent of fresh orange filled the air—possibly because Kenma had washed his hair with orange-scented shampoo or showered with orange-scented shower gel. Either way, the scent was intoxicating, and Kuroo struggled to ignore it. The fact that Kenma was still only in briefs and halfway through pulling a shirt over his head did absolutely nothing to help, and soon he found himself in a very precarious situation. It wasn't as if he'd never seen Kenma in his underwear before. They'd practically grown up together, so something like this shouldn't have affected him at all. But as he stared, he realized that it did. Greatly.

"Oh, you're here. Could you maybe knock next time?"

Kenma had finally pulled his shirt over his head, but he hadn't put on his pajama pants. He wasn't in a rush, even though Kuroo had just walked in on him half naked. Things like that didn't affect him. They were both guys, after all. Kenma noticed, though, that Kuroo had frozen near the door, with eyes focusing on anything but him, and hands obviously protecting his crotch.

"Kuro…?" He asked uncertainly. There was no response from the taller boy, but it didn't take long to realize what Kuroo was hiding. Kenma was exceptionally good at assessing body cues and facial expressions, but still, the realization shocked him. Kuroo wasn't blushing, at least—that would have been terrifying—but it was clear to Kenma that Kuroo had had a reaction to the sight of him in his underwear.

"Um, there's ice cream … in the freezer … if you want any," Kenma said, unconsciously tugging on the front of his shirt. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about what he'd noticed, and he wasn't sure if Kuroo would want to talk about it either. This had never happened before. They'd taken baths together a long time ago, and even visited an onsen together recently, but this had never happened.

"I'll help myself to some. Thanks…"

Kuroo left the room swiftly, hoping that Kenma hadn't noticed the bulge he had been trying to conceal, and sighed. This had never happened before. He thought that maybe the overwhelming orange scent had fogged his mind somehow. Whatever the case, he knew that the situation would be a problem. Thinking about it now, there was no way Kenma wouldn't have noticed what he'd been trying to do. Kenma was perceptive. Almost scarily so. And again, he sighed.

When Kuroo returned to the room, the bulge was gone, and Kenma had put pants on. Thankfully. The air still held the scent of oranges, but mixed in now was the ever obvious scent of tension. Neither boy dared to look at each other for long. Kenma retreated to his bed, curled himself nearly into a fetal position, and resumed the game he had been playing earlier. Kuroo sat at Kenma's desk and drummed his fingers restlessly against the wood. Silence stretched on between them for a while. And then finally, eventually, Kuroo broke the silence, standing suddenly, retrieving a volleyball from the corner of the room, and launching it at Kenma.

Kenma let out a tiny, pained noise and gripped his side.

"Kenma."

"Mmn?" Kenma moaned, still clutching his side. He'd stopped his game by now, knowing that he'd only been attacked because Kuroo wanted his attention. For a moment the attack took the memory of the earlier scene away.

"Why didn't you tell me I'd left my ball here?"

"You have a few so I thought you…" Kenma sighed, "I forgot."

"Remember, next time, okay?"

"But it's not like you only have one ball…"

"I really like this one, though."

"No, you're being difficult, Kuro…"

The tension was ever present, but neither boy spoke about what had happened. For the rest of the night, they played video games together without speaking much until they fell asleep. Kenma had laid a futon out for Kuroo, but when he woke up the next morning, he found that he had ended up on the futon and Kuroo had taken over his bed. Typical, he thought. Though it didn't really bother him.

"Kuro, wake up," he called, hovering over the older boy. It was only in times like these that Kenma could ever call himself Kuroo's savior. Kuroo had never been good at waking himself up in the mornings. And he was usually a deep sleeper, rousing only by touch or cellphone vibration. When he didn't budge, Kenma reached down and poked at his sides. Even then his eyes didn't open, but he rolled over from his side onto his back and murmured something.

"Ken … ma?"

"You're going to be late for morning practice, Kuro. Wake—" Kenma paused. He'd noticed something. Something familiar. He'd noticed something similar last night. Last night Kuroo had tried to cover it. But this morning there was no way that Kenma could ignore it. At first he'd thought that it was simply a normal case of morning wood, but as time drew on Kuroo grew more and more restless, until…

"K-Kuro?" Kenma whispered as he stared on in horror. These were normal, he tried to convince himself. Teenage boys had them all the time. But when he caught himself staring for too long, he began to panic a bit. Knowing that Kuroo had been attracted to him last night, he suddenly thought that the scene he had just witnessed was because of him. Had Kuroo been dreaming about him? He swallowed hard.

He didn't know to react to this. And he froze when finally, suddenly, Kuroo opened his eyes and turned to stare at him.

"…what time is it?" Kuroo asked, oblivious to the wetness in his boxers.

Kenma couldn't respond. His face felt hot, for some reason, and to his horror, a strange feeling spread through his chest, his stomach, and…

"S-six-thirty…" he breathed out, making a break for the door.

For a while Kuroo wondered why Kenma had gotten so flustered all of a sudden. He blinked slowly, trying to wake his body up. And then he felt it. A familiar, yet uncomfortable, stickiness between his legs. He paused for a moment, letting the realization of the situation sink in. And then he groaned. This was not good.

He couldn't exactly remember what he'd dreamed about, but it must have been erotic. For his sake—and Kenma's—he hoped hard that it hadn't been about Kenma. Last night had been an odd mistake, he thought. A random, strange reaction to a scent that he liked. But this morning … he didn't know. He tried to recall something from the dream. Anything. A blurry image. He thought hard. And finally, the only image that his mind had decided to store was brought back, very clearly. Kenma's rare smiling face.

"No, no, no, brain … why?" He questioned, standing suddenly and rushing to the bathroom. Luckily he'd brought a change of clothes. Last night he'd thought he wouldn't have needed them. But his body had had other plans.

Kenma, who had been panicking silently in the kitchen by himself, returned to his room then, hoping Kuroo would take a while in the bathroom. He changed into his clothes for morning practice in record time and tried to keep himself busy by putting away the futon and getting rid of the sheet that Kuroo had also managed to stain.

Then Kuroo returned to the room. The two of them froze for a moment, letting the awkwardness of the situation saturate their bodies. Then Kuroo cleared his throat and began gathering his things.

"I'll be back at seven," he almost whispered. Kenma muttered what sounded like an 'okay,' and stared at his hands as Kuroo left the room.

Kenma had no idea what to do about the situation. Like last night, he didn't want to address anything that had just happened. But he also knew that if he never said anything, the tension between him and Kuroo would grow unbearable. Perhaps if it had been any other person, he would have coped by submerging himself within the worlds of his games, but Kuroo was not 'any other person.' Kuroo was his best friend, and he couldn't simply abandon him. But how could he address this?

At practice that morning, even their teammates could tell that something had happened between Kuroo and Kenma. Kenma had never been very athletic, and he wasn't a genius at volleyball, really, but he was still normally a good setter. This morning, though, he was unusually unsteady on his feet. His tosses, normally easy to spike, were erratic and weak.

As for Kuroo, he was oddly quiet. Distant, even. While his other teammates were practicing together, in a three-on-three match, he stood silently on the sidelines, watching not the gameplay but Kenma. Only Kenma. In the span of a night, he had suddenly found himself drawn intensely to the boy, and he couldn't explain why. He'd been together with Kenma all this time, as friends and teammates, so why was he attracted now? He thought for a moment and figured that he would never find the answer to that—that he would just have to accept it … and maybe act on it. But he couldn't, he thought, holding his head in frustration. Kenma was … a guy. His best friend. Adorable…

"Practice is over!" He shouted suddenly, storming away from the court.

Kenma stared at him as he left. Whatever Kuroo was feeling, Kenma was probably feeling too. Possibly, Kenma thought. He wondered if Kuroo's chest felt as tight as his did right now. Whether it did or not, he hated the feeling.

"Kenma," the team's vice-captain called out, "what's with Kuroo?"

"…I don't know."

"Well, we're counting on you to find out. Since you two live so close to each other."

"Okay…"

He didn't really like to be counted on, but if the tension between him and Kuroo was going to affect volleyball for everyone else, then he had no choice but to do something about it. He didn't know what he would say, but he resolved to at least ask Kuroo about his feelings, at some point of the day.

The next time Kenma saw Kuroo was at volleyball practice that afternoon. While he had calmed down a bit since then, Kuroo had only seemed to have grown more distant. And on the walk home, after they'd separated from their teammates, Kenma attempted to break the silence between them.

"Kuro, about today … I…" he began.

"Hm?"

"…I forgot to tell you that I was thinking of having a party on my birthday."

Kuroo froze, shocked enough by Kenma's words to forget the day's events for a moment.

"Oho ho?" He said, staring directly at Kenma. He'd never thought he'd see the day when the word 'party' came out Kenma's lips. It just seemed impossible for Kenma, since he wasn't very interested in socializing with groups of people.

"And I wanted to ask if you could—"

"Buy the cake?"

"Mhm."

"I always bring cake on your birthday anyway. You didn't have to ask this time, you know."

"I just thought I should … I wasn't sure if you'd come, so…"

"Why wouldn't I? It's your birthday."

"I just … because of today. I thought you might avoid me for a while, so…"

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Kuroo sighed.

"But it's your _birthday_. I couldn't _not_ bother you on your birthday."

"You're right, I guess…"

"…it's tradition, isn't it?"

"Mm…"

Kenma tugged on his shirt anxiously. At least he'd somewhat mentioned the day's events. The tightness in his chest from earlier had returned, though, and he didn't feel like saying anything else. Trusting Kuroo to lead him home safely, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and let it consume him.

Kuroo was grateful Kenma had stopped the conversation there. He didn't think he was ready to delve into the specifics of the morning. He hadn't even come to terms with it within himself. But Kenma's birthday was in a few days, and he vowed he would have it all figured out by then. He promised himself.

"I'll see you later, Kenma," he said when they'd arrived at Kenma's house. He wouldn't be sleeping over tonight, but since they had morning practice tomorrow, they'd walk together, and hopefully the tension between him and Kenma would have dissipated, somehow.

"Ah, bye, Kuro…"

He stared as Kenma walked away from him to the front door. He would wait until Kenma got in safely. At the door, Kenma paused and turned, making eye contact with him.

"And thanks … you know, for not letting me get hit by a car, or something."

Kenma smiled slightly before disappearing into the house, and Kuroo stood frozen, a lump having suddenly formed in his throat. How had he not noticed how astonishingly _adorable_ Kenma was? Groaning, he made his way back home, had dinner and a bath, and settled into his bed. But he found that he couldn't fall asleep. How could he? Kenma had invaded his thoughts. He noticed now how much he missed the sensation of rubbing Kenma's head whenever he felt like Kenma needed comforting or whenever the team won a game. And he noticed how much he liked being Kenma's 'savior.' Knowing that Kenma trusted him the most, he couldn't help grinning to himself.

But he wondered whether Kenma ever felt attracted to him too. If he ever did, he never noticed, but he vowed that he would be wary now. Kenma had obviously been affected by what he'd seen this morning, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was attracted to Kuroo.

While Kuroo struggled to fall asleep, though, Kenma wondered the same thing. Had seeing Kuroo's erection last night and this morning forced his body to come to terms with his underlying attraction to Kuroo? He had no idea, but he knew that the pain he felt in his chest and stomach was not because of today's grueling practice session. He thought of Kuroo's smile for a second and felt the pain in his chest grow. Then he thought of Kuroo's ever present, innocent affection for him and felt the pain in his stomach grow. He really didn't like to get worked up about things like these, but he felt like he couldn't help it. He couldn't concentrate on any games, and he couldn't read anything. He wanted to see Kuroo and speak to him, and at the same time he didn't. How two events could have triggered such a reaction within him, he had no idea.

Two days later, one day before Kenma's birthday, Kuroo asked if he could come over to Kenma's house. Kenma said yes, of course, and met him at the door. The tension between them had only increased since two days ago, but neither seemed to shy away from it.

Kenma had taken a bath earlier, and like that night, the room was filled with the scent of oranges. Kuroo tried to contain himself, but he found it difficult. He tried to distract himself by playing around with the volleyball that he still hadn't taken home, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Kenma. Of all things in his drawer, Kenma had chosen—unconsciously—to wear the hoodie that Kuroo had borrowed him one night after visiting the local sento (public bath) with him. It was clearly too big for him, its sleeves extending to his slender, delicate fingers, but he'd kept it all this time. To make things worse, Kenma's four cats had decided to join him on the bed, curling up next to him and in his lap as he played his game, and he couldn't have looked cuter. Large, cat-like eyes focused intently on the screen before him, blonde-black hair caressing his face perfectly, a hoodie that wasn't even his…

Kuroo felt himself drawing closer to Kenma with every second. Slowly, he inched the chair he was sitting on over to Kenma's bed, and when he got there, he swallowed.

"Oi, Kenma."

"Mm?"

"I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Mm…"

Kenma didn't look up from his game, so Kuroo forced him to.

"Oi," he called, yanking the handheld device from Kenma's hands. The look Kenma gave him was probably dangerous and cute enough to stop a car in the middle of the street. Kuroo swallowed.

"I was almost at the end," Kenma sighed, swiftly standing up and putting the cats out of the room for the night. When he made himself comfortable on the bed again, Kuroo had found a place on the bed too. Since the bed wasn't particularly large, they were sat close to each other, their folded legs making contact.

Kenma tugged on the hoodie he was wearing and stared at his hands. He liked being this close to Kuroo, since Kuroo was always warm, but his heartrate had increased ever so slightly. He wondered if Kuroo had noticed that he was wearing his hoodie. He hadn't intended it at first, but when he'd realized what he'd done, he'd felt like he could wear it forever. It seemed extreme, but since it was another reminder of just how much of a savior Kuroo had been to him, he treasured it. It was too big for him, but it felt like Kuroo was embracing him, somehow … embarrassing, he thought.

Finally, he looked up and found Kuroo staring at his lips. He found it hard not to blush, but he mustered up the strength and broke the silence.

"So, what did you want to talk about…?"

Kuroo finally met his gaze.

"Um … nothing in particular…" Kuroo seemed mesmerized by something.

"But you said—"

Suddenly, Kuroo's lips were brushing against and pressing into his cheek. And Kuroo's hand was gently gripping his neck for support as Kuroo leaned into him. Kenma's eyes widened for a moment as he felt his heart race, but then as suddenly as the kiss had happened, it had ended. Kenma felt a familiar sensation spread through him, and he wondered if Kuroo felt the same too.

If any other person had suddenly kissed his cheek, Kenma would have thought of the situation as nothing more than troublesome. But since Kuroo was absolutely not 'any other person,' he found that he was suddenly excited—willing to affirm Kuroo's feelings and possibly, maybe, eventually … act on his.

"Um, Kuro…" he whispered, wringing his hands, "D…do you like me?"

Kenma's words hit Kuroo's chest with the velocity of a cannonball. And he might have been fine, actually, if he hadn't chosen to notice Kenma's expression at that exact moment. Unfortunately, he had, and to save his body from melting, he stood quickly and made his way to the door. He had never been one to get flustered by anything, or anyone, for that matter, but after seeing the redness of Kenma's face and kitten-like cuteness of his eyes, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Excuse me, I'll be leaving now."

"W-wait! Kuro!"

But Kuroo was already out the door. It was the first time that Kenma had seen Kuroo so flustered, and he realized just how much Kuroo liked him. He held his cheek for a moment as he pondered what to do. Kuroo had always been there for him, always motivating him and understanding him. He'd always thought of him as a savior, a best friend, and nothing more, but he realized now that perhaps he had always admired Kuroo a little more than that. Since witnessing what he had three days ago, he found that thinking of Kuroo made his heart race. Hurt, even. And perhaps, he thought, he really liked Kuroo. Even if he was a boy.

The pain in his chest wouldn't go away unless he acted on his feelings, he thought. So, slipping on a warmer pair of pants, he decided to chase after his best friend. Usually, he wouldn't have liked to exert so much energy, especially after a long day, but for Kuroo he felt it was worth it.

Kenma rushed outside and found Kuroo pacing the street near his house. He seemed to be debating whether to go inside or return to Kenma's house and explain his feelings.

"Kuro!" Kenma called out, jogging over to him. Kuroo stared at him.

"Kenma?"

"Ah…" Kenma wanted to confess, but he suddenly felt a lump in his throat, "…I was wondering if you wanted to walk to the convenience store together … to get, er, because I need to buy cat food, or something … a-and I didn't exactly want to go alone."

'Is that really it?' Kuroo wanted to say, but he gave a small smile and started off in the direction of the store.

"Sure," he breathed out.

The two of them walked in silence on the way there. Neither felt like speaking. They were preoccupied with their thoughts. But halfway through the journey home, Kenma felt Kuroo draw closer to him. It was a cold night, so he'd thought Kuroo was only stealing his warmth. Suddenly, though, Kuroo took Kenma's hand in his. Intertwined Kenma's delicate fingers with his. Kenma felt his face heat up. The moment felt strangely intimate. And though they never spoke, they felt like they had completely understood the extent of each other's feelings in that one moment of contact.

They only separated when they'd arrived at Kenma's house. Neither really wanted to break the silence between them, but they told each other goodbye and went straight to bed. Neither could fall asleep for a while, but when they finally did fall asleep, they slept soundly, straight through the night.

When Kenma's eyes opened the next day, it was Saturday, and his birthday, and already twelve o' clock. He'd missed breakfast, but apparently that didn't matter since there was a strawberry covered cake waiting for him on his desk. Rubbing his eyes and nudging one of his cats away, he left the bed and made his way over to the cake. The words 'Happy Birthday Kenma' were written on it, and knowing that his parents had left for work and Kuroo had brought the cake just for him, Kenma smiled.

He was about to eat one of the strawberries off the top when his bedroom door swung open and Kuroo waltzed in, swinging a gift bag in one hand and a party popper in the other.

"Well, well. Look who finally decided to wake up," Kuroo said, grinning slyly and making himself comfortable on Kenma's bed.

"Thanks for the cake, Kuro. You even asked for extra strawberries, too … there weren't this many strawberries the last time, I think."

"Grab a slice and come over here, already~. I have something for you."

"Mm…?" Kenma retrieved a plate, knife, and fork from the kitchen, cut a slice with strawberries on it, and sat opposite Kuroo on his bed.

"Before you eat, here's your present. It's the new game I promised I'd buy you as soon as it came out. But you can't play it until later, okay?"

"…why would you tell me what you gave me before I look, Kuro?"

"Got too excited."

Kenma smiled. Kuroo had always been more excited about Kenma's birthday than Kenma himself. But Kenma liked that.

Then Kuroo set off the party popper and snickered as the confetti rained down over Kenma's head.

"Could you bring something quieter next year…?"

"Nope."

"I'm not sure why I bothered asking, actually. So … is that it? Can I eat my cake now?"

"No. You have to eat at least one strawberry first."

"But I like saving them for later … fine."

Kenma attempted to pick a strawberry off the slice of cake he had taken, but Kuroo stopped him, grabbing the strawberry instead.

"Do me a favor. Keep the strawberry in your mouth for a second. Like this, okay?"

"…okay."

"Say ah~"

"… …ah…"

Kenma kept the strawberry there, unsure of what Kuroo was planning. Judging by the sly smile on Kuroo's face, he thought it might be something dangerous. And he was right, to some extent. Suddenly, Kuroo's face was inches away from his, and Kuroo was stealing half the strawberry out of Kenma's lips. Though their lips didn't touch, Kenma panicked, pushing weakly on Kuroo's chest to get him away.

"Mmn…!" he mumbled, swallowing the strawberry quickly and glaring at Kuroo. "What was that?"

"Shh. You've got whipped cream on your nose. You need to be more careful, Kenma."

"But I'm sure you put it there. What are you trying to do, Kuro…?"

Kuroo could only smile. He didn't exactly know the answer to that himself. But since kissing Kenma's cheek and holding his hand last night, he felt an uncontrollable urge to be close to him. The teasing was nothing unusual since it was Kenma's birthday, but he'd decided to take it up a notch. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to lick the cream off Kenma's nose, but when Kenma's cat jumped into her owner's lap and did the job herself, Kuroo could only laugh.

"Nyanko-chan beat me to it."

"She's always loved cream…"

"Anyway, I thought you said you were throwing a party."

"…well I only invited you in the first place. Two is enough, right?"

Kuroo smiled. "I'm actually happy it's just the two of us."

"It's always been, right? Tradition. I wouldn't have invited anyone else. Then I'd have had to share the cake…"

"Mmm, you would have. But this time, I'm happy we're alone mostly because I wouldn't want anyone else here while I told you … that I really like you. I guess it took seeing you in your underwear to realize it, which is odd, but … I'm glad I realized it when I did. I've always been at your side, and yet…"

"I … I like you too, Kuro. You wear me out sometimes … but I like you."

Suddenly, Kuroo took Kenma's hands in his and squeezed them lightly. Kenma blushed, but he gave Kuroo a small smile. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, and yet he still felt the familiar sensation of butterflies floating about his stomach. He wondered, as they drew closer to each other, whether Kuroo felt the same sensation. Maybe Kuroo's heart was beating faster. Or maybe his stomach was in knots. Either way, he knew it felt right. They'd been there for each other since they were kids, so this—this scene, these sensations—this felt right.

"I'm sorry I wear you out. But you owe it to me since I find you so often."

"Maybe I'll work on staying put from now on, then."

"Mm, but I still like being the only one you depend on for things like that."

"Of course you do … you wouldn't be you if you didn't."

Kuroo laughed.

"Well, happy birthday, Kenma."

But before Kenma could reply, Kuroo's lips were already against his, and Kuroo's hands had already made their way to his face. Kenma's lips tasted like strawberries. A familiar taste. But for Kenma, the sensation of Kuroo's kiss was completely unfamiliar. He liked that, though, he thought as he melted into the gentle, intimate kiss and wrapped his arms around Kuroo's back. He didn't really like experiencing unfamiliar things, but he liked this.

**Fin.**


End file.
